You know, all the hype about Radiohead has gotten me thinking. What if radios had heads? Wouldn't that be weird? Or like, what if our heads were made of radios? Even weirder! Crazy! Where am I going with this? My point exactly. Nowhere. The exact same destination as the supposedly "realistic" discussions people have with each other about the effect of Radiohead's music on the populace. So far, the most noticeable impact they've had on music is that there are more clone bands inspired by them now than ever before.

The Skinflowers are one of those bands. In fact, they're one of the classic examples of "one of those bands." They're a British guitars/bass/drum machine duo who write songs that generally sound like Radiohead, and singer Gary Skinflowers brings on that affected Yorke-ish vibrato on the long notes, although generally avoiding a falsetto. They sound as if they've been overplaying The Bends and OK Computer for the last three years. And magically, they've gotten some pretty big press that often skirts the Radiohead influence issue while still managing to work it in. "Better than anything Radiohead's come up with yet" is often the key phrase for any writers seeking to maintain their "indie cred."

I'm here to be your honest writer. I love Radiohead, as stricken with overblown hype as they may be. But even for those who don't love the Oxford blokes, Data in a Hurry is not better. It's reminiscent of Thom and Jonny's basement demos. The cheap drum machines sound like the kind of temp tracks used before the actual drummer comes in to record his part. Hell, even the artwork is a complete OK Computer rip-off, with silhouettes of barbed wire crossing over a red sky with the printed words "This is fallout" resting menacingly above the sunset. Please!

What's more, only the first half of the disc accomplishes anything this good. Not that a couple of the songs aren't all right. "Eschatology" is suggestive of "My Iron Lung"-- even incorporating the same pitch-shifted guitars-- and manages to still succeed with a decent melody. And "Call Home the Fleet" is probably the best track here, featuring a folky acoustic guitar progression that's a nice match for unsettling guitar effects, a complementary, melodic bassline, and well-placed menacing keyboard drones near the end. Of course, even on the best track, the melody reeks of a certain other band.

Halfway through Data in a Hurry, the album crumbles. Initially, it seems like the Skinflowers are trying to cop some Stephin Merritt on "Little White Lies" and "I Suppose," working in a hard 80's electro-beat, similar keyboard riffs, and heavily clichéd lyrics. But with "Through My Windows I Can See a Beautiful Background," the OK Computer thievery makes a grand return; the song begins with the unsurprising sound of a modem logging on, and transforms into a tired technology-taking-over rant. And on the closer, "Mock Tudor Doors," a monotone computer voice chants instructions and optimistic messages in a simultaneously ironic and post-ironic fashion. I wonder where they got that idea.

The Skinflowers have yet to find a voice of their own. And perhaps they never will, what with the Radiohead hype growing more ridiculous everyday. Who knows? Maybe they'll release their next album with lots of glitch-tech and less guitars. Maybe they'll get a real drummer. And maybe our heads will turn into radios! Seriously! I can't get over how weird that is!

-Spencer Owen